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PRZOOM - /newswire/ -
Los Angeles, CA, United States, 01/31/2006 - Deal Grants Fox Access To HIT’s Vast Entertainment Portfolio Including Barney, Bob The Builder, Thomas & Friends, Angelina Ballerina and More.
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Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, LLC (TCFHE) and HIT Entertainment have entered into a multimillion dollar, multi-year agreement for the exclusive marketing, sales and distribution rights to HIT’s extensive portfolio of award-winning children’s programming in the US and Canada. Fox will begin distributing HIT’s full slate of home entertainment releases for fall 2006.
The upcoming release slate includes several new direct-to-video and catalog titles for HIT’s top-selling franchises: Bob the Builder, Barney, Angelina Ballerina and Thomas & Friends. Fox will also distribute all of The Jim Henson Company’s “Henson Family Classics,” including Fraggle Rock and Animal Jam, for which HIT Entertainment serves as US agent for home entertainment, as well as licensing and merchandising.
“The entire HIT catalog as well as future releases will benefit greatly from Fox’s industry-leading distribution acumen and clout in the market,” commented Patricia Wyatt, President, HIT North America. “This will allow HIT to dramatically expand its distribution and presence at retail thereby reaching even more families with young children.”
“The HIT Entertainment portfolio contains some of the true jewels of children’s home entertainment,” noted Mike Dunn, President Worldwide, TCFHE. “This agreement will allow us to further our expertise in the kids’ category as well as build HIT’s business at retail to our mutual benefit.”
Through the new partnership, each video release will benefit from the same type of comprehensive marketing that has enabled TCFHE to become an industry-leading distributor. Fox will now perform all of the business functions previously handled by HIT Entertainment’s US home entertainment division.
A recognized global industry leader, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment LLC is the worldwide marketing, sales and distribution company for all Fox film and television programming on VHS and DVD as well as video acquisitions and original productions. Each year the Company introduces hundreds of new and newly enhanced products, which it services to retail outlets -- from mass merchants and warehouse clubs to specialty stores and e-commerce - throughout the world. Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment LLC is a subsidiary of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, a News Corporation company.
HIT Entertainment, owned by private equity investment group Apax Partners, is one of the world's leading independent children's entertainment producers and rights-owners. HIT's portfolio includes internationally renowned children's properties, such as Bob the Builder™, Barney™, Thomas & Friends™ and Angelina Ballerina™. Launched in 1989, HIT’s lines of business span television and video production (including studios in the US and the UK), publishing, consumer products licensing and live events. With a catalog of over 1,000 hours of young children's programming, HIT sells its shows to over 200 territories globally and has operations in the UK, US, Japan and Canada. In 2005, the Company joined Comcast Corporation, PBS and Sesame Workshop to launch PBS KIDS Sprout, a 24-hour digital cable channel and VOD service for preschoolers.
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